The View from a Drawbridge

Tag: German

  • Small World, Indeed.

    After graduating from high school, one of the first colleges I attended was Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida, the “nation’s oldest city.” I’m using quotes because the Anasazi in Chaco Canyon would have been highly amused by this designation. Nevertheless, St. Augustine is a beautiful, historic town. But if you’re a student without a car…

  • Messages in Bottles

    Last month a German fisherman pulled the world’s oldest known message in a bottle from the Baltic Sea. It was tossed into the water back in 1913, and contained a postcard that included the writer’s home address in Berlin. Due to water damage, the rest of the message is illegible, but work will soon be…

  • Time out of Mind

    I’ve been watching this great series on the TLC channel called “Who Do You Think You Are?” in which celebrities trace their family trees. In one episode, supermodel Cindy Crawford discovers she’s a direct descendent of Charlemagne. No one in her family knew this. The question is, how on earth is that possible? I mean,…

  • “Ja, das ist der Platz”

    Standing in line on a dock in Croatia, waiting for the hydrofoil to Venice, I noticed a German tourist with her dog in tow. I hadn’t seen my dogs in weeks and missed them terribly. Using hand signals to break the language barrier, I asked if I could pet her dog. She nodded. I began…

  • Just Keep Swimming

    My grandfather was old school. Part of his ability to thrive in America after coming over from Denmark stemmed from his philosophy of wasting neither money nor time. So when the day came to teach his kids to swim there were no lessons at the YMCA for his children. Oh no. He just picked them…

  • Sins of the Fathers?

    I have a very unique last name. So unique, in fact, that only 3 people in the United States have it. The two others, my uncle and aunt, are in their late 70’s, so eventually I will be the only one. I’m past child bearing age, so once I’m gone, unless my cousins in Canada…

  • Express Yourself While You Can

    The written and spoken word has always been dear to me. That’s why I got a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and Latin American Studies. I wanted to be able to express myself in more than one language and really get into another culture. I wanted to see how communication differed in another tongue. After living…